Lzzy Hale on dealing with music industry sexism

A picture of Halestorm singer and guitarist Lzzy Hale
Lzzy Hale (Image credit: Getty)

Lzzy Hale says she deals with sexism in the music industry by making sure she does the best job she can with her music.

The Halestorm frontwoman says she has faced sexism throughout her career, but that it has never held her back from expressing herself.

Hale tells RockSverige: “I’m not blind to it, but I do put blinders to it most times, because really the only person I’m judging myself on is myself and my bandmates, because if I feel that I did a good job, then fuck everybody else.

“I think there’s a misconception that girls, because they are in tradition the fairer sex, they should be much more perfect than the boys, but the truth is that we’re not perfect. In fact, we’re probably more imperfect.

“Guys fuck things up in a matter of dollars, as in things you can measure in money. Girls are fucked up in the head, as in they will shit on your soul and make you do things you don’t wanna do. I’m well aware of that. Bitches be crazy and I’m one of them.

“At the same time, you have to accept the fact that everyone is a little bit screwed up and there’s an element of raw to what we do. It’s rock and roll, so if you’re not pushing the boundaries of what you do, you’re doing it wrong.”

Describing instances where she faced sexism in the industry, Hale adds: “One was before we got a guitar tech, and I was changing my strings on my guitar, and some guy came up to me and said, ‘My girlfriend never does that for me.’

“The other thing was someone saying to me, ‘You sing pretty good for a girl.’”

Hale also reveals that the band’s next album, the follow-up to last year’s Into The Wild Life, will be a return to their roots.

She says: “You have no idea the weird songs I’ve been writing, subject matter and musically. Musically, it’s kinda been a long journey to the beginning, so we’re kinda going back to our total roots. We’re gonna do a rock record this time.”

Halestorm are currently on the road across North America.

Halestorm remaining 2016 tour dates

Aug 02: Bossier City CenturyLink Center, LA
Aug 04: Nashville Ascend Amphitheatre, TN
Aug 07: Brooklyn The Amphitheater at Coney Island, NY
Aug 10: Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion, MD
Aug 12: Gilford Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, NH
Aug 13: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena, CT
Aug 14: Erie Erie Insurance Arena, PA
Aug 16: Chicago First Merit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, IL
Aug 18: Detroit DTE Energy Music Theater, MI
Sep 01: Canfield County Fair, OH
Sep 07: Sao Paulo Maximus Festival, Brazil
Sep 10: Buenos Aires Maximus Festival, Argentina
Oct 06: Dallas Gas Monkey Live, TX
Oct 08: Colorado Springs Pikes Peak Center, CO
Oct 09: Salt Lake City The Complex, UT
Oct 11: Tempe The Marquee, AZ
Oct 12: San Diego House Of Blues, CA
Oct 14: Reno Silver Legacy Casino, NV
Oct 15: Sacramento Ace Of Spaces, CA
Oct 17: Spokane Knitting Factory, WA
Oct 21: Billings Shrine Auditorium, MT
Oct 22: Minot State Fair Center, ND
Oct 23: Duluth Pioneer, MN
Oct 25: Kalamazoo State Theatre, MI
Oct 26: Toronto Phoenix, ON
Oct 28: Montreal Metropolis, QC

Halestorm: Hale To The Queen

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.